President Obama with Stephen Colbert

You have to like at least one of these guys.  This was a pretty funny piece on the Colbert Show.  Now see the behind the scenes.

Office Pranks

I enjoy a good prank.  Especially a prank that keeps the office environment relaxed.  Here’s a classic.

Advertising – Not Their Forte

I have finally found it!  The worst advertising campaign ever.  It is so ill-conceived, I cannot find anything good to say about it.  The campaign is for the launch of the Kia Forte, a new car on the Canadian market.

If you go to http://www.mykiaforte.com/base.html and click on “Watch the Forte TV Spots” you will see what I am talking about.

First, in all of the situations presented, the Forte owner is a baffoon.  Whether inept at bee keeping, kung-fu or social graces, the geeky looking guy in all of the commericals is definitely the loser of the spots.  But boy is he proud of his Forte.

Second, the spots have been running heavily during the basketball playoffs and during 24.  I have to take from this that the target demographic is males between 18 – 34.  Perhaps women may find something charming about nerds, but let me assure you, guys between 18 – 34 do not want to be seen as a dweeb, nor do they have much time for guys who are.  Certainly the millhouse of the situation is not the one most guys look to for car advice.

Finally, the car is shown along with the price point: $15,695, I believe.  At the same time, Mazda is promoting their new Mazda 3’s for the same price point.  Kia provides no rational or appeal for why anyone would want to choose one of their Forte’s over a Mazda 3.

From my experience, making quality cars is not Kia’s forte.  After seeing their marketing prowess, I guess that’s not it either.